Enders

Enders

By Lissa Price

Published on 1/7/14
Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

With the Prime Destinations body bank destroyed, Callie no longer has to rent herself out to creepy Enders. But Enders can still get inside her mind and make her do things she doesn't want to do. Like hurt someone she loves. Having the chip removed could save Callie's life - but it could also silence the voice in her head that might belong to her father. Callie has flashes of her ex-renter Helena's memories, too ...and the Old Man is back, filling her with fear. Who is real and who is masquerading in a teen body? This is the thrilling sequel to "Starters".

Part of what I love about being a book reviewer is getting advanced copies of books.  I was so excited to get Enders because I really enjoyed Starters.  (You can see that review HERE)  In fact, I was so excited to read it, that I polished it off in about 2 and a half hours so that I could give you all a write up!

The author jumps right in with Enders....  a good thing if you just read Starters and are eagerly devouring the series.  Considering I reviewed this at the end of May and can barely remember what I had for breakfast (other than it was delicious), I had to do a little homework reminding myself what is going on...  and it still did not help that much.  So many exciting things happened towards the end of Starters that it probably would have been more beneficial to read the last few chapters of that before I began the sequel.

I really enjoyed the story behind Enders, but it also felt a bit underdeveloped.  Sort of like when you go to see an action movie and not enough time is spent convincing you of the reasons behind the car chases and violence.  This book was a bit like that: lots of action, not so much on the plot points.

Unfortunately, the character development I so appreciated in Starters was absent in Enders.  There is a mysterious boy who saves Callie in the first couple of chapters and ends up quite a prominent figure in the rest of the book.  We get to learn how the tech was developed and why.  However, there is a super strange romantic scene between this boy and Callie that you do not really see coming.  All of a sudden, they are, apparently, aching to touch each other.  When did that happen?  They basically start making out without any previous hint of feelings.  Literally there is one paragraph about how they spend a few weeks together, and then BAM! kissy face.  I think the author could have spent just a teensy more on building that relationship and less on the tense action scenes.  

Overall, I DID like the book.  I think it is an effective second in the series, and I think it will be cool to see what happens next.  I am crossing my fingers that there is more investigation into feelings and the social ramifications of living in this world.  But if there isn't, it is still a really fun read, and a really good one for teens.  I recommend it!!!

~Ericka